COVID-19 Update from Mini Museum
almost 4 years ago – Wed, May 27, 2020 at 03:33:10 PM

Hello, everyone!

We hope this message finds you safe and healthy! If you're following us on social media or are subscribed to our newsletter list, you know that we've been keeping busy even while we are working separately from one another.

Even though our region is due to open in a few days, we'll likely continue this arrangement for some time to come. MMHQ is a tight space and maintaining social distancing will be difficult at best. Yet while most of what we do is solitary craftwork, it's still hard to be apart from each other.

Of course, we're also trying to figure out how to go adventuring in this new world but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it... perhaps literally!

Above: One year ago today (almost). Hans in Nepal.

We're sure most of you have similar stories to share, and speaking of sharing, many of you have shared incredible pictures of Mini Museums with us! 😍

Thank you all so much for doing this. We really love looking at these pictures and it is so helpful in reminding us why we do what we do.❤️🦖

If you'd like to send us pictures, you can email [email protected] or tag us on social media with #minimuseum. 📸

Production and Shipping Update

On the production front, we're very close to the finish line. Actually, we've been in the "almost" phase for about two months now but COVID-19 had other plans...

Before New York State went under lockdown, we had one (1) remaining batch of Large Mini Museums in production to round out our Kickstarter pledges. Unfortunately, this batch didn't make it out before the lockdown and it has impacted roughly 80 backers.

While waiting for business to resume, we've kept in touch with this group of backers by private email (March 30th, April 30th, and again yesterday on May 26th). We thought it would be a good idea to note all of this in a public update.

The good news is that the State of New York is finally ready to open up Long Island. It will be a few days before we know exactly when this final batch will be coming, but we've cleared the first step. Thank you to all of you who have been impacted by this delay. Your patience, support, and kind words have been really wonderful.

ℹ️If you haven't heard from us and you haven't received your pledge, it could be that these emails have gone into your junk mail folder. It is also possible that you haven't filled out your BackerKit survey yet. We have 74 backers who have yet to fill out their surveys even though their Mini Museums have been ready to ship for some time. 

Either way, you can drop us a message at [email protected] and we'll be happy to let you know the status and give you the next steps. You can also check on your BackerKit survey directly by visiting https://mmdino.backerkit.com/.

Kind regards from all of us here at Mini Museum! We hope that you are staying safe!

Production and Shipping Update: Need to redirect or pause your shipment? Plus "T" is for Triceratops
about 4 years ago – Fri, Mar 13, 2020 at 06:00:46 PM

Hi, everyone!

A quick message from the Mini Museum team.

It's hard to watch the news and see the impact of COVID-19 and not think about all of you. We hope this message finds you and your families healthy and safe. ❤️

This week we heard from a number of backers in Italy about rerouting packages from work to home. Thankfully, they are all healthy so far, but we thought we would send a general message out to everyone just to check-in.

If you need to change your delivery address or hold your shipment, now is the time to let us know. Please send an email to [email protected] with the details. 

On our end, we are proceeding with all shipments as outlined in the last update:

• Small and Touch Mini Museums are now at the warehouse - We are inspecting Smalls and will begin shipments to backers within the next few days.
• February shipments are nearly complete - We had a few shipments that were waiting on Smalls. We'll queue those up first. We also have a few backers who just completed their surveys. You will also be queued up next.
• March shipments have started - A number of you have already received shipping notices too. If you're in one of the March tiers, make sure to keep an eye on your inbox (not to mention your junk/promotional folders).

The only outstanding item is our replenishment shipment of Illuminated LED Stands. We're still waiting on shipping details. What we do know is that they are done, packed, and ready to go. We will post an update as soon as we have more information. In the meantime, our team is healthy and we have plenty of orders ready to ship. We'll be working through those each and every day.

As always, thank you all so very much for your support of the Mini Museum. We are thinking of you and so happy to see all of your pictures! Stay safe and healthy!

- Stephanie, Andrea, and Jamie

Age of Dinosaurs Begins to Arrive! 🚚🦖Production & Shipping Update, Top Shipping Questions, and Backer Pictures 📸
about 4 years ago – Mon, Mar 02, 2020 at 11:08:44 PM

Hello, everyone!

If you're following us on social media, you know that Age of Dinosaurs has started to arrive around the world! 🚚🦖

Over the last 10 days, we've ramped up to speed and we plan to finish February shipments this week. After that, we'll move on immediately to March shipments.

On the production front, all Mini Museums are moving forward according to plan:

•  Large Acrylic Mini Museums - Almost done! We have just one batch of Large Mini Museums left to finish to round out the Kickstarter pledges.
•  Small Acrylic Mini Museums - Small production is ahead of schedule. The first batch is in QA so we should see those hitting the warehouse very soon.
•  Touch Mini Museums - Touch assembly is ahead of schedule. We have several hundred units at the warehouse and they will be joined soon by the rest.

Shirts have arrived and we've started shipping those out to all backers. Of course, we'll be expecting Justin Owen to send us a picture. 😎

The only open item is our replenishment Illuminated LED Stand order. Per plan, this should be in the warehouse but it has not left China yet. As you can imagine, this is a fluid situation but the good news is that they are ready to go and we're just waiting on flight information. We still have about 10-15 days of shipping to get through before we'll run out so we believe they'll arrive on time. Again, if there is an issue, we'll be in touch when your shipment comes up in the queue.

Top Shipping Questions

How are you shipping Mini Museums?

FedEx for the most part. USPS will be used for certain destinations that are not well served by FedEx. If you would like us to use USPS for your shipment send us an email and we'll change the carrier.

Will I get a tracking number?

Yes! Our system will send a tracking email to you a few hours after we generate the shipping label for your package. If you are using Gmail, you should add [email protected] to your approved sender list or this email might end up in your junk mail folder. We've also seen instances where it goes into the "promotions" folder too so make sure to keep an eye out there as well.

I'll be going on vacation, can I pause my shipment?

Yes! If you think you might be away when your shipment comes up, send us an email with your travel dates and we'll be happy to put a hold on the shipment. 

My shipment is missing or damaged!

Not to worry! Every Mini Museum shipment is insured against loss and damage. In each case, contact us immediately by email at [email protected].

•  Damage: If a shipment is damaged, contact us immediately by email. Do not discard the packaging even if it is damaged.
•  Lost/Missing: Occasionally, packages are delivered to neighbors and tend to show up in a day or so, but let us know as soon as possible so that we can double-check.

Bonus: How do I clean my new Mini Museum?

Just a reminder that you should NEVER use any cleaning products that are not designed for use with acrylics. The best choice for cleaning a Mini Museum is to use NOVUS formula #1 (blue label) with a microfiber cloth. Never use glass cleaners with ammonia (like Windex) as this will permanently damage your Mini Museum.

Thank you!

As always, thank you so much for your support of the Mini Museum! We are working hard to get Age of Dinosaurs to all of you as quickly as possible!

Now, it's back to work!

- Hans

📸 If you have pictures to share, tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can also use the hashtag #minimuseum and we'll find it! Prefer email? Send pictures to [email protected]!

Production Update: Shipping Begins! 🎉 Age of Dinosaurs Digital Companion Guide Released! 📚ROAR with Backer Kevin Canali! 🦖❤️
about 4 years ago – Fri, Feb 14, 2020 at 01:36:10 AM

Hello, everyone!

We're excited to report that the Display Boxes and Companion Guides arrived in the warehouse a few days early. They passed inspection, and so it's time to begin shipping! 🎉

As with past campaigns, we will begin by sending out small batches of single-unit orders just to make sure that we have everything set up correctly. Jamie will be on-site at the warehouse on Monday morning to review all of the new dinosaur add-ons with the team. After that, we'll ramp up to speed over the next few days!

We're also happy to report that we are on track with Touch production! We're about halfway through the assembly process for the Touch Mini Museums and we'll be ready to begin shipping as soon as we move through our February shipments.

The only items we are waiting on at this point are shirts and a replenishment order of Illuminated LED Stands. The shirts are still in production but should arrive very soon. If your shipment comes up in the queue before the shirts arrive, we'll split the shipment and send the shirt separately. On the stands, we have more than enough on hand for our February shipments but we are waiting on delivery for the later tiers. We do expect these to arrive on time, but if there are any issues we'll be in touch when your order comes up in the queue.

Age of Dinosaurs Digital Companion Guide Released! 📚

With the first shipments heading out the door, it is also time to release the digital version of the Age of Dinosaurs Companion Guide!

The digital version of the companion guide is a high-resolution PDF file weighing in at 95MB in size. We've put it on our content delivery network but if you're on mobile you might want to wait till you're on WiFi before you grab it! 🦕

DOWNLOAD THE AGE OF DINOSAURS COMPANION GUIDE (95MB): https://minimuseum.com/guide/ageofdinosaurs/

ROAR! 🦖❤️

Here at the end, it seems fitting to borrow a little from the closing Companion Guide:

While working on each edition of the Mini Museum, we develop deep and personal connections with the subjects. We think about where each individual specimen might go once it becomes part of a collection. Who will look at it? What thoughts will they have?

Age of Dinosaurs is no exception. Each specimen in the collection provided us with a chance to reconnect with childhood memories, and more than once I’ve heard someone roaring.

Of course, I’m not surprised!

For many children, the world of dinosaurs is an exciting introduction to the vastness of time. There are so many names to learn, and what a joy it was to pronounce them correctly when you suspect that an adult might not know. There is a majesty to it all that inspires wonder and creates a lifetime of love for these magnificent creatures.

We hope that Age of Dinosaurs will help you reconnect with this magic too, but then I also suspect that most of you are already there.  😉

As always, thank you all so very much for your support of the Mini Museum. We still have a long way left to go with Age of Dinosaurs! If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to email us at [email protected]!

ROAR!

- Hans

P.S. As an added bonus, I'm happy to share Kevin Canali's (pictured above) beautiful video about the Mini Museum! I can't tell you how much this means to the team! Thank you, Kevin! ❤️

Surveys Locked Down, Charging for Add-Ons in 48 hours, Production Update
about 4 years ago – Thu, Jan 30, 2020 at 03:41:17 PM

Hi, everyone!

A quick message here from the Mini Museum team!

Those of you who have completed your surveys should receive a "48-hour final notice" lockdown email message shortly. This is your opportunity to make any changes to your address or modify add-ons. Once the 48-hours have passed, the system will finalize the lockdown and begin charging for all add-ons.

ℹ️If you haven't filled out your BackerKit survey, now would be a great time to do so. Drop by https://mmdino.backerkit.com/ to retrieve your survey. If you experience any issues, you can also send us an email at [email protected] and we'll be happy to help!

Production Update

As Hans noted in the last update, we are on target to begin the first shipments of the first Large Acrylic tier in mid-February. Companion guides should arrive later this week and Display Boxes are due to arrive the week after. Touch Production has started here at MMHQ and all other batches of Mini Museums are in progress. So far so good! 

As always, thank you so much for your support of the Mini Museum! We're looking forward to sending Age of Dinosaurs out very soon!

- Stephanie, Andrea, and Jamie